Now you don’t see it; now you do

Abstract

This article was given as a keynote address to the 2009 conference of the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW), 30 June to 2 July, at Coventry University, UK. It draws on experiences at Queen Mary, University of London, of developing a ‘writing in the disciplines’ initiative and of working towards institutional recognition for writing as a key and integral part of student learning. It raises issues about the transition from school to university writing and about such frameworks as ‘Graduate Attributes’. Sometimes weaving together others’ stories, it argues that, whilst there is great potential for writing development in universities, we also need to be aware of risks that derive from adopting industrialized approaches, governed by a narrow emphasis on form, belief in the possibility and benefits of ‘transparency’ and an over-reliance on explicit criteria to drive assessment and learning.